12-17-2003 -- Naovasaisri, Nantawat -- Conviction -- News Release

Man Convicted in Connection with Illegal Alien Prostitution Ring and Attempt to Hire Hit Man to Murder FBI Agent

CAMDEN - A federal jury today found a Thai national guilty on charges he conspired with others to transport illegal Thai women within the United States for the purpose of engaging in prostitution and attempting to hire a hit man to murder a Special Agent of the FBI, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

After about 90 minutes of deliberations, which began this morning, a jury convicted Nantawat Naovasaisri, 34, of one count of conspiracy to transport Thai female aliens within the United States while knowing that they had entered United States illegally and for the purpose of engaging in prostitution; one count of knowingly transporting Thai aliens within the United States while knowing that they had entered United States illegally; one count of knowingly transporting Thai female aliens in interstate and foreign commerce with the intent that they engage in prostitution; one count of knowingly attempting to kill a special agent of the FBI, and one count of knowingly using a telephone and the mail with the intent that a murder be committed as consideration for payment.

The five-count Superseding Indictment was returned in April. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aidan P. O'Connor and Karl H. Buch.

U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas, who presided over the 10-day trial, ordered Naovasaisri's continued detention until sentencing on April 2, 2004, at 10:30 a.m.

On Oct. 22, 2001, a federal criminal Complaint was filed against three defendants charging them with the alien smuggling and prostitution conspiracy. A criminal complaint charging Naovasaisri with the attempted murder of the FBI agent was filed against him in August 2002, while he was in federal custody in Philadelphia on the alien smuggling and prostitution charges.

Naovasaisri was first arrested on Oct. 23, 2001 in San Diego by an FBI agent from the Atlantic City Resident Agency (Agent #1) and other FBI agents from California. On Oct. 30, 2001, a grand jury in Newark returned a One-Count Indictment charging Naovasaisri, and his co-defendants Komson Hongthong, 42, and Supit Mapup, 42, Ratiporn Tantirojanakitkan, 33, and Naree Hanlert, 47, in the alien smuggling and prostitution conspiracy. Tantirojanakitkan and Hanlert both previously pleaded guilty before Judge Irenas to original one-count Indictment charging conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and to transport individuals for the purpose of engaging in prostitution. Tantirojanakitkan pleaded guilty on Dec. 2, 2002, and Hanlert pleaded guilty on March 12, 2003. Hongthong and Mapup remain fugitives from justice.

According to a tape-recorded telephone conversation introduced at trial, on Feb. 8, 2002, while detained at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, Naovasaisri spoke from the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia with an undercover FBI agent who was located in New Jersey. During the call, Naovasaisri attempted to hire the undercover FBI agent to murder FBI Agent # 1 in the hope his criminal charges would be dismissed, allowing him to return to Thailand, and because he was angry with the agent for arresting him.

According to testimony and evidence presented, between January and July 2002, Naovasaisri had letters forwarded to the undercover FBI agent in an effort to negotiate payment for the murder of Agent #1, including offers of money and a car in California. In a letter written in April, Naovasaisri advised the undercover FBI agent that he would tell his sister that he needed $5,000 for a new lawyer and that she should give the money to the undercover FBI agent. The letter further stated that the undercover agent should pretend to be a lawyer and send a letter to defendant's sister in California to get a $5,000 partial payment for the murder.

Under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Judge Irenas, will determine the actual sentence based upon a formula that takes into account the severity and characteristics of the offense and the defendant's criminal history, if any.

Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Under the Sentencing Guidelines, defendants who are given federal custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Christie credited Special Agent of the FBI's Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Louie F. Allen in Newark, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Cherry Hill Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John Torres in Newark, Bureau of Prisons - Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, under the direction of Warden Edward B. Motley, and the Atlantic City Police Department, under the direction of Chief Arthur C. Snellbaker.

The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aidan P. O'Connor and Karl H. Buch of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division.

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Defense Attorney: Joel P. Trigiani, Esq. Philadelphia